Something
by Melarith
Summary: "We have finally arrived to our destination after almost a month of travel. The people here seem very reclusive and distant, those we have tried to speak to have only given silent mumbles, a short shake of their head or just silence before walking away."
1. The Journal of Inquisitor Rahlod

**Day 23**

We have finally arrived to our destination after almost a month of travel. The people here seem very reclusive and distant, those we have tried to speak to have only given silent mumbles, a short shake of their head or just silence before walking away. What ever is happening here it has intimidated the townsfolk greatly. We did meet one man, a hunter by the name of Silan who was surprisingly talkative compared to the rest, I have made plans to meet with him at his camp at the edge of the forest tomorrow evening after he returns from his hunt.

Who ever is the cause of these rumors I will find and bring to justice for the Church.

**Day 24**

I ventured to the edge of the forest where Silan was supposed to be camped, bringing two of my guards with me while leaving the other two in town to question more of the townspeople. It took us a good hour to reach the camp and the only discovery we made was a torn tent and a long-cold campfire. It had appeared that no one had used the camp for quite some time. I now believe Silan, if that is his real name, simply wanted to distract us from out true path and his intentions for doing so will be discovered tomorrow when we return to town. For now we must make us of this campsite for shelter from the night.

**Day 25**

We returned to town and discovered that Silan was in fact an outsider and not part of the town community. One of the town's militia reported he saw Silan venturing northwards and we will follow in his tracks until we catch him. It appears we have discovered the source of these rumors that tell of corruption, mere lies of a wandering fool.

Justice will be done.

**Day 36**

We're lost in the wilderness. Silan's tracks simply vanished and when we tried to trace back our steps we lost Gerald, swallowed by the fog, and Richard has taken ill by some strange insect bite. We have enough supplies for now but if we do not find the road soon we may find our demise in this endless fog.

**Day 39**

We heard screams in the fog, it was Gerald's voice! We ran towards the screams but the faster we ran the further away it got, I do not know what is happening here...

I don't know ...

I'm alone. The fog never ends. Never! ... They are chasing me. The shapes... Gerald taunts me from inside the fog... he told me the others were turning against me. I had to follow my orders ... I had to remove all threats ... they were a threat!

I left them in the fog ...

I see them!

Humans! Not undead, not orcs, not monsters, they are human! ... or ... they look human ... they are like beasts. Worse than beasts... They are hunting me, I can see them in the fog.. following me.. taunting me..

**Day Unknown**

I have had several days of delirium but I have regained my senses now. I do not know what day it is, I do not know the way home, I do not know how to get food ... so long since I ate ...

I killed them, my friends ... my ... No, I cannot succumb to despair.

I must finish my mission, for the Light and for the Church!

I'm lost ... alone ... I have no energy to go on, so here on this mossy hill I surrender to the shadows. I see them coming closer now, from the fog..

By the Light, they're impe...

* * *

_We wanted solitude but you sent your hunters_

_We wanted to be left alone..._

_Now we come for you..._


	2. This way comes

_"I'm writing these words as the sun is setting on what is likely to be the last day of my life. My companions are dead and I am alone in the darkness awaiting for my demise but before I am silenced forever I will chronicle what has happened, what led us here."_

The eerie silence was deafening as the trio continued along the desolate road, for days now they had travelled and for days they had not seen a single living soul, human or otherwise. No sign of settlements had been found even though several were clearly marked on the map, it was as if the forest itself had swallowed them up whole.

_"Damn it, you fool! Don't let the mules slow down or they'll get stuck in the mud!" shouted Harold, a tall, fat and rugged man. "Keep 'em moving, we're not stopping until nightfall."_

Edmund, a thin and gnarly young man, looked at Harold with wide frightened eyes for a moment before tugging on the reins to get the mules to quicken their pace, the mules stubbornly obeyed "I'm trying sir, blasted beasts are getting tired an-"he was cut off before he could finish the sentance.

_"I don't care for excuses, boy! Just make 'em keep moving!"_

Just ahead stood Evelynn, a silent and brooding woman who had been brought along as a pathfinder and scout for the assignment. She quietly observed the two men for a moment before continuing along the path, silently into the mist.

_"For days we wandered that cursed road and for days we saw nothing but the mist and dead husks of trees. Harold became more and more agitated at Edmund for his inability to perform his tasks, he began to be physically abusive of the boy.. sometimes beating him. I said nothing, I didn't care at the time.. Now I wish I had stopped him. Too late... I digress. We wandered the road and our food supply dwindled, we thought we would find our end on that road, lost in the mist. But fortune smiled on us as we stumbled upon a small village, it's modest structures appearing through the mist and we believed we were saved. We should have stayed on the road, in the mist."_

_"We've been lost in this bloody mist for days now, I'm getting sick of it! Mist wherever we go, wherever we look. Why haven't you found the way out of this forest? Wasn't that why they sent you here, huh? You're the pathfinder so find us the path out of here, woman!_" Harold glared at Evelynn who was calmly and silently sitting near the bonfire.

After a short moment she glanced at him and replied casually_ "The path is there and I will find it. I'm never lost so calm yourself and eat, fat man."_ she said the last part with a smirk.

Harold simply continued to glare for a minute then stubbornly sat down by the fire with Evelynn and Edmund, the trio sitting silently and eating. The night was coming quickly, not that it mattered since the days were as dark as nights. Always darkness.

_"We quickly discovered that the small village had been abandoned a long time ago but the fog did not seem to enter the village, that alone lifted our spirits. For the first time in so long we could see clearly. The village seemed to have been prospering at one point, it had a decently sized town hall, a stone chapel and several large houses along with smaller ones on the outskirts, must have been a hundred people living here._

_We began searching the buildings, house by house, but we found nothing of use just old books, broken furniture and old clothing. Although Edmund made a remark about how the plates and food had been placed on the tables of several houses as if the families were in the middle of eating when they left."_

Harold hadn't said a word in hours, he had started walking in the front and leading the trio while mumbling to himself with an occassional glance backwards.

The pack mules had begun to get very weary and one looked as if it would fall over from exhaustion at any moment, yet Harold continued to push the trio onwards through the mist which has become even thicker now, and the forest had changed dramatically. When they set out the forest looked dark, yet it was mostly alive, now on the other hand the trees were black, dead and sinister looking. Twisted. Their unnatural shapes almost disturbed the eyes when gazed upon as if they were not part of the natural balance, something that Edmund had begun to mention often, commenting on the trees, saying they were reaching for him.

Evelynn kept her dagger close at hand, she had become weary of her companions and suspected madness had taken a hold of their minds.

_"What we found is something that would haunt my mind for the rest of my life if it would not end this night. Dozens upon dozens of bodies sown together, nailed to the walls, to the ceiling, to the floor.. the inside of the chapel was covered in bodies. Men, women... children. Their faces frozen in terror and agony, by the Light we should have stayed on the road!_

_Edmund ran out of the chapel, the sight too much for him to handle and only moments after he had left we heard his scream, a scream cut short very suddenly. We ran out to find his body but his head was missing."_

The mist had become thicker but the structures of the village were visible as vague dark shapes. Edmund had pointed out that it seemed almost as if the mist has tried to hide the village from the trio, something that Harold scoffed at and smacked the boy on the head. _"Don't give me that shite, it's just mist. Now get the mules moving, maybe we'll finally find some warm beds to sleep in tonight ..and some ale."_

Edmund didn't reply, he just lowered his head and began tugging at the reins. Evelynn remained silent as usual, following the two men towards the village.

_"We searched for tracks, any kind of tracks, but we found nothing. Harold wanted to leave but I insisted we stay to find the murderer, how I regret that decision.._

_Harold went to investigate the blacksmith while I walked towards the town hall, I made it barely halfway before I heard a shout coming from behind and as I looked I saw a raging fire being lit in the blacksmith furnace. I ran towards the smithy to see what he was doing, when i approached the forge I saw Harold with his back to me and I called out his name, he turned and terror filled my heart. His face had been cut clean off, empty sockets stared back at me and a moment before the panic rose up I noticed his body was being held up by ropes as if someone was using him as a puppet, pulling the strings to make him move!_

_I ran faster than I ever have in my life and I looked back.. why did I look back? I saw shadows, shapes moving in the dark, faster and faster towards me. I ran to the town hall and slammed the doors shut behind me and I placed every piece of furniture I could find to block the door.. and now I am here. Writing these words. Should anyone find these pages I have written then by the Holy Light of Creation run! Flee from this cursed place and do not look back! Whatever you do, do not look back..."_

Evelynn put down the dusty tome and rested her head in her hands, she began to sob quietly.

A creaking sound of the old wooden floor, the cold pain of metal piercing her flesh...

The last thing she heard was the giggle of a little girl...


End file.
